The Face Stealer
by Laura's court
Summary: After seeing Amon at the Equalist rally, Korra begins to have strange dreams.
1. Prologue

_"Miracles are things we make for ourselves. Here and now." ~Anon._

* * *

Korra wasn't one to dream. She was a pretty deep sleeper and normally difficult to rouse, but all that changed that night at the Equalist rally.

_"Since the beginning of time, the spirits have acted as guardians of our world, and they have spoken to me. They say the Avatar has failed humanity. That is why the spirits have chosen me to usher in a new era of balance. They have granted me a power that will make equality a reality. The power to take a person's bending away. Permanently."_

She had thought it was impossible, but even as she insisted on it to herself, she watched in horror as the leader of the Triple Threat Triad, Lightning Bolt Zolt, fell victim to Amon's power, his bending gone for good. During those few moments, she hadn't taken note of it, and it wouldn't be till much later that she recognized it, but if she had smelled carefully as Amon used energy bending on the gang leader, she would have sensed the sickly stench of rotting meat.

She never got a full night sleep after that.

* * *

It all seemed so familiar, but she knew she had never been there before.

The hot muggy air was stifling. She felt sweat drip down from her forehead down her face, unable to evaporate in the saturated heat. Knotted vines hung from the branches of the gnarled trees. There were large lily pads. She couldn't help but grin to herself as she jumped from one to another, trying to avoid the muddy water beneath them.

She made it to the fifth lily pad when a small speck of light floated past her. She reached out to touch it, but it escaped her touch. She tried chase only to fall in the sickly water and lose the speck in the thickening fog. In the distance, she heard a flock of birds suddenly flutter off, their slumber disturbed by something hidden in the mist.

An unfamiliar feeling, fear, crept its way in to her heart, raising the hair on the back of her neck. As mystical as this place seemed, it was just as creepy. Avatar or not, this was a place to be respected and feared. That much even she knew.

"Hello? Is someone there?" She asked carefully, a slight squeak in her voice. When she received no answer, she tried to explore some more, but the fog was making it too difficult to see.

"Korra!"

Frightened by the voice, Korra immediately got into a bending position. "Who's there?"

"You can't bend here."

This voice felt familiar, much like the swamp did, but she knew she had never heard it before. To see if the voice was telling the truth, she tried bending. The water and mud did nothing despite her commands. She tried fire bending, but not even smoke came from her hands.

"Okay," she said. "I can't bend, but I'll have you know I'm not completely helpless."

"Oh, I know you aren't. I've been watching you."

"Who are you?"

Suddenly she felt someone's presence behind her. Her heart began a frantic pace and panic spread through her limbs like cold ice.

"Wake up!"

* * *

She awoke with a screech, like a firecracker had just gone off in her room. She looked to her side to see her best friend staring at her with a look of worry, or as much of an expression of worry as a polar bear-dog could give.

"It's okay, Naga," she said, more to herself then to her friend. "It was just a dream."

_It was just a dream…_

* * *

**I hate writing chapters this short, but this is more or less me just testing the waters... Not sure if I'll continue it if no one likes it.**

**This is based off my theory on how Amon got his powers, so this will likely turn into an AU. It was also inspired by a Zutara fanfic I read some time ago called **_**Half Asleep**_** by The Crushinator. If you're a Zutara fan, go read it! It's awesome!**

**Please leave a review. If you want to know what exactly my theory is, send me a PM and I'll tell you**


	2. Dreams

_"When love is real, it finds a way." ~Avatar Roku_

From the outside, Republic City was enjoying a time of peace and prosperity, but there was something dark and sinister brewing underneath that gilded glow. Even Tenzin, being on the council, couldn't identify the growing corruption within the great city built by his father. It was long before his father died that the slime of evil began to creep it's way into the heart of the city.

Korra had no idea she had only scratched the surface of what was really wrong with the city when she had infiltrated that equalist rally. Tarrlok wasn't the only member in the council craving power, and she didn't recognize his attempts at flattery or the multitude of requests to join his task force as attempts to control her.

She was getting ready to head on out to the Pro bending arena to train with Mako and Bolin when Tenzin approached her. Lately she had been putting off going to practices, but now that they were back in the tournament, she had to go.

Anything to get her mind off of Amon and the dreams that were haunting her every turn.

"Korra," said Tenzin. "Is everything all right?"

She thought about her response. She didn't want to tell him about her nightmares just yet. She was more interested in the vision she had at Aang's memorial. "When you found me at Aang's memorial statue," she began.

"Yes?" said Tenzin.

"I had a vision," she continued, "of Aang. He was fighting someone, but I didn't see who it was."

"You did?" She nodded. "Do you think maybe you would like to try to connect to the Spirit world and speak with him?"

"I don't know," she said. "I'm not sure I want to." Before Tenzin could say anything more, Korra left for the Pro Bending arena where the fabulous bending brothers were waiting for her.

She was partly dreading practice that morning. She had missed several practices since the Equalist rally, and she knew Mako would not be pleased with her. No doubt, however, they had read what had happened to her in the paper, maybe they had forgiven her already.

…Well, Bolin might have…

Instead of taking the ferry (like Toza preferred she do) she decided to swim there. She needed to connect with her natural element for a little while. Bracing herself for the inevitable conflict that would result between her and Mako like she braced herself for the freezing waters of Yue bay, she hurled herself from the ocean on up to the bridge leading to the arena. She water bended herself dry before entering and heading for the changing room.

She was lucky enough not to run into either of the brothers on her way there, but that was because she was running late. She took her time getting dressed, slowly putting on the pads and gear needed for practice. When she approached the gym, she heard Bolin and Mako grunting as they trained in preparation for the upcoming tournament.

She was so selfish. These guys were trying so hard to get out of the life of poverty, and here she was, holding them back because she was afraid of her duties as the Avatar. She smiled as she thought about Mako and Bolin all dressed up at the Gala. Bolin looked good in those nice clothes, but Mako…

…it didn't fit him right.

She didn't mean that he didn't look good or that he was meant for the poor life, but the clothes she saw him in regularly just fit him better. As awkward as she felt wearing something fancy like that dress, it was awkward to see him all decked out like that. She liked him how he was.

Her thoughts immediately turned to Asami Sato, Mako's date. She was gorgeous, so Korra had to admit, she couldn't be angry at Mako for liking Asami. Perhaps she should be angry at herself for simply not being good enough for anyone.

She really wanted to go home right now…

She opened the doors to the gym and both brothers immediately stopped what they were doing to look at her. She plastered a grin on her face to cover up the ache inside from fear and self pity.

"Hey, guys," she said cheerily. "Sorry I'm late."

They weren't fooled by her attitude. They could see the dark circles under her eyes and the sag in her shoulders.

Bolin was the first to speak. "Um Korra," he began, "you know, you didn't have to come."

Korra wasn't expecting that, but she ignored it. "Didn't have to come? I've already missed several days of practice. I was half expecting Mako to chew me out for missing so many days."

"Korra, we read what happened in the papers," said Mako, forcing her to drop her act in surprise. "We would have understood if you didn't come today."

Korra smiled, but shook her head. "Let's begin practicing," she said, grateful for their understanding. "I need to get my mind off of things."

"All right!" shouted Bolin, excited to see Korra back on the team. "Let's get started!"

* * *

_She was buried up to her neck. She tried to earth bend her way out, but she couldn't. She couldn't earth bend. Suddenly all around her were centipedes, thousands of them. They began circling her forming strange patterns that she couldn't identify. Screams of pain she had only heard once after the Equalist rally seared the air and rang in her ears._

_"Mako!" she cried. "Bolin!"_

_As soon as she yelled out, the centipedes reacted and began gathering together to form a larger centipede. Korra watched in horror as the creature took on Amon's mask and turned on her._

_"You have failed humanity," it said. It's voice made her blood boil and skin crawl. "You must be destroyed!"_

Korra's eyes snapped open. Gasping for breath, she ran out of her room and into the bathroom, vomitting into the toilet. She could still smell it. The stench of rotten meat coated the air. She ran out of the small building she was staying in at Air temple island, gasping for fresh air.

"Ma'am, is everything all right," asked one of the White Lotus sentry guards. She didn't like it when one of them called her "ma'am," but as she stood there trying to catch her breath, she hardly cared if he called her something ridiculous like a purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings.

"Yeah, I just had a really bad nightmare," she muttered.

"These nightmares, I think they're getting worse," he said. Yes, this was not the first night she had come running out of the house. The first time this happened, she didn't even make it out of bed before vomiting all over herself., and that had been the first night after the fight with Amon. "You should talk to Tenzin about it."

"Yeah, I think you're right," she said. Looking over at Avatar Aang's statue and the clock at his feet, she could see that it was three in the morning.

She took a deep breath and looked for the moon. With her air bending training, she was learning to connect better with the four elements, especially water. The moon was setting, but as it was almost full, she could still feel its power pulsing through her veins.

"Might as well do some training," she muttered to herself. There was no chance she was going to get any sleep now, so she decided to distract herself with some water bending.

Since the incident with Amon, she had distracted herself with the pro bending tournament, and it worked for a while. She was even given enough of a reprieve to try and focus on her relationships with her two teammates, and completely destroy them for a while. She was very grateful that they were so forgiving.

That last thought lead her straight back to the kiss she had given Mako and had been returned. Anything to distract herself from the nightmare she just had. She ignored the horrid guilt over Bolin that had followed after the elation at having been kissed back by Mako. The kiss had been impulsive, much like everything else she did in her life, but the return Mako had given her, she knew that was no impulse on his part.

Unlike her, Mako was strategic and calculating. He did not make a move on a whim like she did. He was cautious and always second guessed himself which at times was more useful then her habit of jumping the gun. So that kiss meant… something… She knew now he liked her, but it was up to him to figure out just how much he liked her.

"Korra?"

Taking a deep breath, she suppressed all her inner turmoil and turned to Tenzin. "Good morning, Master Tenzin," she said with a grin. "It's pretty early, don't you think?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," replied her knowing air bending teacher. Her act faltered.

"The moon's almost full tonight, so I couldn't sleep." Tenzin shook his head.

"Don't lie to me Korra," said Tenzin sternly. "You look like you haven't been getting much sleep lately."

"Do I really look that awful?"

"You cover it up really well," he replied. "However, if you want to master air bending, you can't keep things bottled up inside."

Korra let out a small sigh. Last time she had tried to hide things from Tenzin (her fear of Amon), it hadn't ended well. "I've been having nightmares."

"I see," said Tenzin. "What are they about?"

"They're all different, but in each one, I can't bend at all, and there's this horrible smell when I wake up."

"Tell me about the first one," said Tenzin. "My mother took the time to explain to me about how dreams are sacred to the Water Tribes. You may be the Avatar, but you are still Water Tribe."

Indeed, dreams were deemed highly sacred the the people of the Water Tribes. Dreams were messages from the Spirit world or ancestors passed for the person receiving them to decipher. Korra took a deep breath, going back to that first dream in the swamp.

After hearing her describe the swamp and what had occurred there, Tenzin asked, "Could you bend at all there?"

"No," she replied. "In every dream I could not bend."

"I see," Tenzin said as he stroked his beard in thought. "Have you had a repeat of this dream?"

"Yes."

"How many times, including the first?"

"Three times."

"Ah…" Tenzin thought about it for a moment. "My father described such a place to me once before." Korra looked at him curiously. "It wasn't a dream. He was looking for the Moon and Ocean spirits, hoping to get some help from them to save the Northern Water Tribe. He got their help, but at a cost."

"Yue…" muttered Korra. "So that swamp, it was the Spirit world?"

"Part of it, yes, I believe so," said Tenzin. "The Spirit world is a strange place. Time does not flow there as it does here. It's very dangerous to venture there without some sort of guidance."

"Isn't that where I'll meet Aang? In the Spirit world?" asked Korra.

"Yes."

"Then that means he must be trying to contact me!" said Korra excitedly. "Maybe he can help me."

"I have no doubt that he can, but not today," said Tenzin, and Korra's face fell.

"Why not? You just asked me a few days ago if I wanted to try and talk to him!"

"When my father first tried to contact Roku," Tenzin explained, "he had to wait till the winter solstice in order to speak with him. You should try to contact Aang on the equinox. Luckily, that's only in a few days."

"But what about my other dreams? What about the rotting meat smell that lingers after I wake up? No one but me can smell it. Why is that?"

"These could all be messages from Aang, or another spirit entirely. Either way, Aang will know." Tenzin thought about it. "Have you tried using incense?"

Korra made a face. "My fire bending teacher tried to get me to use that stuff," she said. "It always smelled weird to me."

"Would you rather smell that or rotting meat?"

"...I'll try the incense."

* * *

It wasn't often someone like her made an appearance in this part of Republic city. The buildings were run down and decrepit. Even the homeless tended to avoid this area for fear of what lurked in the shadows and haunted its streets. There were many places to hide and escape routes underground that lead all the way to the heart of the city. Even Chief Bei Fong's forces couldn't mount a search through this area, she simply did not have the amount of benders needed in such a task.

It was the perfect hiding place for the Equalists.

She had rode there on her moped, dressed in more modest clothes then she would normally wear. Her long black hair was tucked up neatly in her helmet. As soon as she stopped and stepped off her moped, she was surrounded by chi blockers.

She held up her hands in surrender when a voice she had only ever heard on the radio spoke out from the shadows.

"Wait." A man dressed dark clothes and mask to cover his face stepped from behind his elite unit of chi blockers. "Welcome back, Miss Sato."

A small smile curled her lips as she slipped off her helmet. Her hair slipped over her shoulders and down her back.

"Thank you for having me," she said tucking her helmet under her arm. "I've come to discuss something with you." She looked around. "In private."

An incline of his head and all his followers disappeared as quick as they had appeared. She was alone with Amon… Well, as alone as she could get with the man, no doubt his lieutenant was hiding in the shadows just in case.

"I hope you're not having second thoughts about your mission," said Amon as he turned away, motioning for her to follow.

"No, I'm not backing out," she said. "It's about Mako."

"Ah yes, the fire bender for the Fire Ferrets and their team captain," said Amon. "What about him?"

"I want to try and talk him into joining us," she said.

At this Amon snorted. "You know as well as I do he won't," he laughed. "He has worked too hard as a bender to get him and his brother where they are now."

"I want to try," she said, her face set in a determined frown. "After all, I did."

"Yes, and you were wise to do so," he replied. "Fine, go ahead, it won't hurt me if you try."

"Thank you," she said.

"This doesn't change things, though," he said. "You will do what you need to when it comes to the Avatar."

"Of course," she said. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

**Okay, part one was before episode five, and part two and three were after in case you couldn't tell.**

**Also, I do NOT hate Asami. I just want to give her something to do other than be a c***block to Makorra, which I'm sure Bryke will do, but I really like my idea so meh! I'm actually giving her character. I'm not making her evil, just misguided. You know, like Zuko.**

…**I'm gonna get lip for this, aren't I?**

**You know, technically, what I did there was a Masami moment! This is from a Makorra fan! Asami cares enough for Mako to try and protect him from the revolution she's a part of?**

**Come on! Work with me!**

**Now, I think we're finally deviating from the series. I did say at the beginning that this was probably going to be an AU...**

**...I think I need a Beta Reader... anybody interested?**


End file.
